MLB 11: The Show Gets One-Button Mode For Disabled Gamers

Sony San Diego creates disabled-friendly game mode.

According to a report by ESPN, Sony’s San Diego studio plans to incorporate a one-button game mode into MLB 11: The Show for disabled players. The new mode will allow disabled gamers to pitch the ball and swing the bat with a push of a button, while the CPU will take care of fielding and base-running.

The idea for this new disabled-friendly game mode first spawned a year ago when Sony San Diego received a passionate letter from 25-year-old baseball and gaming fanatic, Hans Smith. See, Smith suffers from cerebral palsy and baseball video games are his only outlet to live his dream of being an athlete in summer’s favorite past-time. Sony San Diego was so moved by the letter than they included Smith’s created character in the retail version of MLB 10: The Show.

But the collaboration between Smith and Sony San Diego did not stop there. For MLB 11: The Show, Smith and Sony San Diego came up with the new one-button game mode, called “the Association for Disabled Virtual Athletes,” which makes sure all players, disabled or otherwise, fully enjoy The Show.

"I’ve been able to play baseball over the years by playing various video games. I love baseball video games. To some people, these are just games. But that’s because at any time, they can turn off the console and go out to a ballpark and play baseball in the physical world. I can’t do that,” admitted Smith.

"So my body doesn’t know the difference between reality and virtual reality. I’m never going to throw a baseball. I’m never going to run around the bases. So all of the adrenaline you feel by stepping out on the field and coming up to bat with two outs in the ninth inning, that’s what I feel when I play the video game. So in a sense, this game is my reality.”

The new Assocation for Disabled Virtual Athletes game mode will be available in MLB 11: The Show when the game launches in early March.